Reid Punts On Insurance Industry Anti-Trust Exemption

Senate negotiators have decided not to include a provision revoking the insurance industry's anti-trust exemption in the bill leadership sends to the floor, said two Democratic aides close to the merger talks. Instead, the measure will be offered as an amendment on the Senate floor.

The House health care bill, unveiled Thursday, includes a revocation of the exemption.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who makes the final decision on what goes into the bill, recently testified in favor of revoking the exemption.

Requiring insurers to follow anti-trust laws is broadly popular as a way to look tough battling the insurance industry. "I'm not here to defend the health insurance industry," said Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) on Tuesday, while explaining why he opposed a public health insurance option. "I'm open to supporting the removal of the antitrust exemption for the insurance industry. I'm prepared to support it. I don't want to be cute with my words. I will support it if it comes up."

The 1945 McCarran-Ferguson Act exempts the insurance industry from anti-trust laws.

The merged bill will, however, include a public option that will compete with private insurers.

Comments

[joebaggadonuts]

I can see Obama dithering about troop withdrawal because the MIC kills people who get in its way. These guys who run the insurance scam on our health and medical delivery systems only kill sick people. Why bother to give them a chance at what they want when they are standing in the way of what the people want and what the nation needs to become competitive again on the world stage... single payer.

[unite4change]

Face it folks, we must rid Washington of the old guys.

[Sporadic1]

'Dump This Junk' and get some changes made to the current system.

[Chernynkaya]

I'm with Dennis Kucinich on this:

“We compromised on single payer by backing a public option, and now we are being asked to compromise the public option with negotiated rates. In conference, we will likely be asked to compromise negotiated rates with a trigger. In each and every step of the health care debate, the insurance companies have won. If they get hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxpayer subsidies, they get to raise their premiums, and increase their co pays and deductibles, while the public is forced to pay for private insurance, then the insurance companies win big."

I suppose it was the best we could hope for. Campaign finance reform is now the only legislation that matters.

[joebaggadonuts]

Agree. Antitrust exemption repeal MUST pass or the rest of it is just another sop to the Insurance Banksters.

[SocialistBoy]

Anti-Trust Exemption: I hope they make it retroactive to 1945 at least!!

[Bronxdude]

Regulate the health insurance industry just like any other utility.

[Bronxdude]

As a result of collusive, exclusionary and illegal practices that make a mockery of the Sherman Antitrust Act, predatory insurers like UnitedHealthcare and WellPoint funnel millions to crooked republicans in exchange for favorable legislation designed to crush competition, increase profits and solidify their monopolistic advantage through deliberate manipulation of the insurance market. There is no “free market” or real choice when subscribers are forced to select doctors from a list complied and approved by for-profit, degenerate insurance industry bean-counters. Doctors selected by UnitedHealthcare as “approved providers” are not done so because of their demonstrated level of peer reviewed expertise, exceptional competence and professional commitment; instead, they are chosen because of their willingness to accept extremely low reimbursement fees. In essence, with UnitedHealthCare, the notion of true choice and quality care is a farce because the subscriber is steered toward low-bid doctors willing to accept very low reimbursement. Pick a non-approved doctor, and, similar to Pavlov’s dog, the subscriber is punished financially to deter any future occurrence of such treasonous and ungrateful behavior. Physicians who agree to accept such low reimbursement are not the “honor grads” of their class, nor are they respected and accomplished among their peers. They are singularly motivated by greed, not a desire to practice medicine adeptly. The public option would offer real choice and allow Americans to select from the most competent practitioners, not just the low-bidders forced on subscribers by greed-driven, parasitic insurers.

[realpolitic]

Why should the insurance industry have an anti-trust exemption? It is just ridiculous! Money controls our politics!

[super]

Because nobody trusts the health insurance industry!

[EagleFury]

"Th- they're so big. And th- they're...HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES. We can't afford to anger them, any more than we can afford to anger the Wall St. pirates.

Must do as we're told. Weaken healthcare reform.
Must do as we're told. Weaken healthcare reform.
Must do as we're told. Weaken healthcare reform.

[jasper48]

What bothers me the most about this subject, is the constant equivocation.
In spite of what has been said, I don't have any confidence in the fact that the
Insurance companies will lose their advantage.
When you hear someone like Lieberman say "I don't want to be cute with my words",
You've got to be concerned as to whether or not you've got enough KY jelly on hand.

When are the scales ever going to be tipped, to the advantage of the voters?
When will it be our turn to be represented?

WHEN????????????

[EagleFury]

WHEN???

WHEN ANGRY AMERICAN CITIZEN-PATRIOTS FORCE THE ARISTOCRACY TO FOLLOW THEIR COLLECTIVE WILL, IS WHEN.

[jasper48]

I was attempting to go for the ironic, leaning toward the rhetorical, with that last question, but I appreciate your intensity. I would just like, for once, to see some true leadership willing to tilt toward the corporate windmills. This cannot continue, for much longer, the way it has.

IMHO

[SocialistBoy]

Men,grab your hoes and ladies grab your pitchforks!! Huh, or is it the other way around?? Lost my head in the fury of the excitement!!

[jadeba]

This bill opens the door to single payer (I hope) - that's why the industry and their minions are working so hard to kill it. It isn't exactly what we want, it's a beginning.

BTW, appeasing the Blue Dogs actually made the bill more costly (so much for fiscal responsibility). CBO says it lowers the deficit - I wonder how the repubs will spin that one? Oh, yes, they'll just lie about it.

[mrtutto]

Dear Mr. President,

Why is it that every report I read says that you are against the Public Option unless it is a trigger ? This health care bill is going to have a Public Option, maybe not as strong as your voters wanted ( you know those people that you made a promise to.) You have a choice, you can either be on the right side of History or people will say that this Health Care Reform passed without you. Your choice

[Fotios]

I think this is an area to get GOP support - let the insurance companies cross state lines, but also remove their anti-trust exemption, so we can make sure the big guys don't swallow up all the competition.

[wdw505]

i'm ok with that

[SoCalDaveO]

Absolutely.

The two remaining areas of business still sheltered with this ancient rule are health insurance and professional baseball. There is no reason not to want to promote real, true competition. This saves every American real dollars, today.

[bzb]

I'm not and the Anti-Trust Exemption should remain.

[jadeba]

That'd work if the gop were really interested in reform - but, we know they're not so it won't make a bit of difference. They remain and always will be the party of no (unless one of their own is in office - then they say yes to everything). It must be nice to live in such a world - it's totally black and white, no shades of grey. Simple system for simple minds.

[MSaxe]

If you want insurance competition, you cannot allow trusts to control the industry. This should have been done 30 years ago.

I'm sure they have lots of other ways of colluding to keep their profits up, but this one has to go.

[RealityThinks]

this proposal would be the real game changer that the public option isn't. I find it interesting that this proposal, that could lower costs through increased competion isn't recognized by the dem leadership as the most important in the reform debate.

Sad